"Accelerating climate change and decreasing energy security are driving a growing number of voluntary and regulatory initiatives to improve new and existing building performance and reduce carbon emissions," said Phil Bernstein, FAIA, Autodesk vice president of AEC industry strategy and relations. "Our Green Index Survey consistently reflects these new initiatives and finds that owners are demanding green buildings at a steadily increasing rate. Autodesk's goal is to make sustainable design easier so architects can meet this growing demand, and we're doing so today by offering new sustainable design analysis software and a free online guide to building sustainably."

Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2010 provides architects and engineers with a wide range of simulation and analysis functionality, which helps users to better understand earlier in the design process how environmental factors--such as solar, thermal, shading, lighting and airflow--will affect building performance. Design firms can use the newest version of the product within extended building design teams using Autodesk applications for
building information modeling (BIM), applying all the tools necessary for building performance analyses that help enable energy-efficient and sustainable designs.

With the rich information inherent in the BIM process, design data can be imported using the gbXML file format from software such as
Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 and
Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 into
Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2010, helping to provide more accurate simulation and analysis at any phase in the design process. Autodesk Ecotect Analysis subscription members now have access to the
Autodesk Green Building Studio web-based service, allowing for whole-building energy analysis to help determine estimated total energy costs, carbon emissions based on local electric grid data and net-zero energy potential with the application of renewable energy sources. In addition, customers can run several simulation and analysis studies, such as calculating solar availability, determining heating/cooling loads, calculating daylight factors and determining potential ENERGY STAR scoring.

The Autodesk Guide to Sustainable Design is another tool that helps project teams, including owner, architect, engineer and contractor, address sustainable design decisions earlier in the project lifecycle. This online resource can help users first decide what the sustainability goals of the project should be, which decisions are crucial, and what tools to use and steps to take to create and deliver more sustainable designs from start to finish.

"Autodesk created the Guide to Sustainable Design because green building begins when projects are first imagined, and this requires thinking green at every stage in the lifecycle," said Bernstein. "By giving people a detailed view of the green building and renovation process, we hope to make a wider range of firms and individuals aware of achievable designs with more sustainable results."

The guide assists users in selecting their building paths and in viewing the consequences of their design choices on the efficient use of water, energy, materials and land. Users can see the potential they have to influence the sustainable use of these resources at every phase of the process, with scales that increase or decrease depending on where you are in the design-build phase; the higher the scale, the greater the effect of design decisions made at that phase on the sustainability potential of the finished project.

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and
3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit
www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Ecotect, Green Building Studio, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.